


Grimm Tales

by BooksRBetterThanPeople



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is a princess, Akumatized Marc Anciel, BAMF Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, But they still believe in Lila, F/F, F/M, Gender Non-Conforming Kim, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila gets what’s coming to her, M/M, Marc almost kills Lila, Marinette is a fashion critic, Princes, Princesses, Tacky outfits burn her eyes, The Akuma class is smarter, class sugar, fairytales - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29952036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksRBetterThanPeople/pseuds/BooksRBetterThanPeople
Summary: The Akuma Class wake up a find themselves in a strange world where fairies exist, there’s like twenty princesses, and everyone breaks out into song every ten minutes. Can they get out of this world and back to their own?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Everyone vs Lila Rossi, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc vs Lila Rossi, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim, Minor Alix Kudbel/Chloé Bourgeois
Comments: 14
Kudos: 34
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	Grimm Tales

_‘You’ll all see who the true villain is!’_

_’He’s been Akumatized!’_

_’Run!’_

_’I’m writing the story now!’_

_’Rose! No!’_

_’Help me!’_

Nathaniel shot up screaming, “MARC!” He panted as he grasped his hair and wiped the sweat off his brow. “Shit. Wh-what?” When he realizes that he’s in bed, he thinks to himself, _‘Was it a dream?’_ He looks around and finds himself not in his bedroom. The room is almost entirely just wood and looks like it came straight out of the sixteenth or fifteenth century. There’s an armoire with a floor-length mirror next to it, a desk with some stacks of paper and a few quills in a cup next to a small glass of ink, and a small shelf with a few books stacked on.

”What the hell...” Nathaniel looks down and sees that he’s lying in a bed with red cotton sheets and cautiously gets up before walking towards the mirror. His eyes widen in shock when he sees his current attire. It’s sort of similar to what he usually wears only in color scheme, and it’s more appropriate for whatever century he’s in right now.

He now has on a grey vest, the same color as his blazer, with a pale orange long-sleeved shirt underneath, coupled with dark purple pants and mauve bucket-top boots. He also wears a belt with a buckle that has the same black symbol on his shirt engraved on. _‘It’s almost similar to Flynn Rider’s outfit,’_ Nathaniel thought to himself.

He gave his outfit a nod and made his way over to a window that’s over the desk and looks out to see that he’s near the woods. “God, what’s going on?” He whispered.

”Nathaniel!” A woman called out from a different room, startling him. He looked to the door that opened to reveal a young woman with curly orange hair and turquoise eyes. He guessed this woman was supposed to be his mother. She wore a white apron over a tan dress with light blue sleeves, and wrapped around her head was a white scarf that held her hair back. “Dear, I need you to take a basket of pastries to your grandmother’s house.”

Nathaniel furrowed his brow, “Uh... Sure?”

The woman smiled, “Great. Remember: Stay on the path and don’t stray along. I know how you can get a little distracted,” she teased.

Nathaniel awkwardly chuckled, “Yeah. So, where exactly does she live?”

”Oh, right in the middle of the forest, dear,” she said as if it were a normal thing, but to Nathaniel, it sounded awful.

”I-I’m sorry. An elderly woman lives in the middle of the forest, and you’re sending your child to deliver her a basket of pastries?” He questioned. “That’s sounds right to you? God, this sounds like some messed up...” A thought occurred to him. _‘Unconcerned mother, a grandmother who lives in the forest.’_ “... A-am I in _Little Red Riding Hood_?”

His fake mother just smiled as if she didn’t hear what he just said, “Oh, and be sure to take your cloak. You know how much your grandmother loves to see you in it,” she said before leaving his room.

Nathaniel stared after her with his mouth hung open a bit in confusion. Once he was over the shock of being in a centuries-old story that had no regard for child safety, he tried to think back to what happened and how he ended up here.

The last thing he remembers is being in the classroom. Mme. Bustier decided to make it a free day, and the students were doing their own activities when suddenly, Lila started to once again ramble on and on about one of her many fake adventures and accomplishments. It seemed like ever since she came along, most of the class has been losing brain cells. They followed her every whim and hung off her every word. The only ones who didn’t believe her lies were him, Marinette, Alix, Rose, and Juleka. It’s tough being one of the smart ones. At least they don’t believe the lies about the six of them bullying Lila.

Every time Lila accused one of them of bullying her, stealing, hitting, pushing her down the halls, etc. Alya would come to their defense while trying not to make it look like she was calling Lila a liar. She says the Italian might have just confused them with another student, and the class would agree. They had good hearts, but they just weren’t that bright.

Seeing that no one believed her lies about being bullied, Lila switched to a different tactic, bullying them by making it look like an accident. She spilled water on Marinette and Nathaniel’s sketchbooks, claiming it was a problem with her arthritis; knocked a bottle of Rose’ very expensive perfume onto the floor and claimed it was because of a dizzy spell, made it sound like she was helping Juleka with her modeling when really she was just pointing out her nonexistent problem areas, and finally, “accidentally” spilling pink paint and glitter all over Alix’s brand new skates then claiming she tripped. No one even questioned why she carried that stuff.

It was so frustrating. And they couldn’t do anything because Lila would twist it around and make it look like they were bullying her for her “disabilities”, and Mme. Bustier would tell them to be nice to Lila. Nathaniel was so thankful Marc wasn’t involved with this. If that lying witch did anything to his boyfriend, there would be hell to pay.

While she talked about nothing but herself, Marinette was showing Nathaniel one of her fashion reference books for a comic, he and Marc were working on about time traveling-themed superheroes. They were right in the middle of coming up with an idea for an eighties hero when suddenly, the door burst open. And there stood Marc as an Akuma, only he called himself Grimm Tales. He was in a Victorian-styled outfit with a punk theme, and in his hands, he carried a black book. When he opened it, everything just went black and Nathaniel found himself in this strange room. Grimm Tales must've transported him and his friends into Little Red Riding Hood, or maybe even a bunch of different stories.

”Rainbow,” Nathaniel sighed sadly. “What happened?” He made his way towards the closet to look for that cloak his fake mother mentioned and immediately found Little Red Riding Hood’s signature piece of clothing. How could he not when it stood out from all of the drab washed-out colors? When he took it off the rack, a glowing yellow light hit his face, making him shield his unprotected eye. He pushed the other clothes to the side to see what was glowing so brightly and found it. Engraved in the back of the wooden closet were these words:

_'Once upon a time, there was a dear little boy who was loved by all who looked at him._

_But the one who loved him most was his dear grandmother, and there was nothing_

_that she would not have given to the child. Once she gifted him a cloak of red velvet._

_The cloak suited him well, and he would never go without it._

_So he was given the name, 'Little Red Riding Hood'.'_

Nathaniel read the engraving a couple of times. Would he see more of these as he went along? With a shrug, he examined the red cloth in his hands. It did feel like it was made of velvet, looked like it came down to his ankles, had a ribbon for him to tie around himself, and a hood. Nathaniel slipped on the cloak. It felt nice and warm as it covered his shoulders, although the color was almost matching with his hair so it looked a little weird. Just one of the many wonderful perks of being a redhead.

“Of course Marc made me Little Red Riding Hood,” Nathaniel muttered as he made his way towards the door. But before he was out, he heard a voice.

"Hello, love."

Nathaniel whipped his head around, "Marc?" He looks around his room and calls out again, "Marc! A-are you here?" There was only silence until Nathaniel heard a humming sound coming from the mirror that now had a slight purple aura around it. He walked closer and closer to it until he was a foot away. "He-hello?" Then, much to his alarm, his image fades away and a new figure appears in the glass.

"Marc?" he whispers out of shock.

"It's Grimm Tales now, Red," he smirked.

Grimm Tales' outfit had the purple and black color scheme Nathaniel remembered. He wore a purple corset with a low neckline and black middle. Across the middle part of the corset are grey straps with black buckles. Underneath the corset was a collar with an open front with the two ends connected by a grey strap. Connected to the corset were purple and black puffed sleeves with black undersleeves that came all the way to his fingers, but the tips are cut off, making them fingerless. He has on black leggings with a grey strap wrapped around his left leg, a small brown pouch tied around his waist, dark purple high-heeled boots. His hair is less messy and a bit longer, his ponytail is now held up by a purple ribbon with two lavender quills attached, and his makeup is a little more gothic with heavy black eyeliner and black lipstick.

"Rainbow, what happened to you?"

"Love, I assure you, you and the others will find out as you go along," Grimm Tales smiled sweetly. "Just keep the stories going, find all of the pages, and you'll all be let out. You, Mari, Alix, Jules, Rose, all of our friends and classmates. Got it?" Nathaniel, after a few seconds of processing what he said, nodded. "Great. Oh, and... You better hurry. I know you hate Lila but be honest, Nath. Does this seem a little too much?" His image disappears, and in his place is Lila, with her head through the hole of a guillotine. She's tied up, gagged, and screaming for help.

"Oh my God!" Nathaniel screamed.

Her image is replaced by Grimm Tales'. "Too much?"

"Marc, Rainbow, please." He ignores the scowl on Grimm Tales' face when he doesn't use his Akuma name and continues to try and reason with him, "Y-yes, I know, Lila is a horrible person, the th-the worst person at our school- In Paris, in fact. But don't do something you'll regret once you're de-akumatized."

He just smirks, "Finish the stories, find the pages, then when you're all free, I'll let your classmates deal with her. Love you, try not to get killed." He blows Nathaniel a kiss before his image in the mirror fades, so all Nathaniel sees is his reflection.

"... Love you too, Rainbow." Nathaniel turned on his heel, walked out of the bedroom and down the hall where he soon found himself in a kitchen. His fake mother was cooking something in a black cauldron over a fire pit. She perked up when she saw the bright red out of her peripheral vision and turned around to greet Nathaniel.

”Oh, don’t you look lovely?” She cooed. “The basket is right on the table.”

Nathaniel looks around until he sees the basket she’s referring to. Sitting on a dinner table is a wicker basket with a plaid sheet covering whatever is inside. He walks towards it, lifts the cloth, and finds a couple of pastures inside. Croissants, macarons, a few muffins, and a loaf of bread. It still seemed kind of messed up that he’s walking through the possibly dangerous forest just to deliver pastries. And if remembers correctly, a wolf is wandering around, probably very right now.

”Okay, I guess it’s time for this underage boy to venture out into the harsh, unforgiving forest,” Nathaniel said in hopes this woman will see that there’s clearly something wrong. “Yep. I’m fourteen years old, I’m naive and impressionable, and I’m going into the deep, dark forest.” The woman is just focused on what’s in the cauldron. He frowns and picks up the basket. “I'll probably get kidnapped. I bet there’s even a bear somewhere in there... Maybe even a wolf. I’m sure I’ll be mauled to death and then eaten.” Again, no response. “Oh, what a loving mother I have. Goodbye.”

Nathaniel makes his way toward the door, and just as he’s about to grab the doorknob, the woman pipes up, “Oh! Nathaniel!”

”Yes?” He sounds hopeful that he might not have to actually go into the woods. But instead, she just says, “Love you, dear.”

“... I love you too, mom.”

🐺🐺🐺

Nathaniel got a better look at the home. It was a modest one-story cottage, mostly made of wood. There was a small farm in the back with a cow and a few roosters. Sighing, Nathaniel made his way down a dirt path that went through a small village. He saw a few people out farming, children playing, and some elderly people sitting on their porches. A few waved at him, prompting him to awkwardly wave back since he knew none of those people. The road was starting to get a little darker the more he walked down it and got closer towards the forest. Once he was inside, the dirt road turned into a rock path.

“Stay on the path, stay on the path,” Nathaniel told himself over and over every time he heard a rustle coming from one of the bushes or a few birds flying overhead. Why couldn’t Marc have made him the little mermaid? They both have red hair and he can swim... Kind of. So many questions were just going through Nathaniel’s mind right now.

_What’s Marc’s goal as an Akuma?_

_If he brought his other classmates in with him, where are they?_

_What pages was he talking about?_

Suddenly, another rustling coming from one of the bushes pulled him out of his thoughts. Nathaniel turned around and saw a bush shaking. Something or someone was in it. Probably the wolf, he thought. He knows he should run right now, but curiosity just took over his common sense. “I-is someone there?” When all he got was another shake from the bush, he slowly backed away. Once he took five steps back, something appeared out from behind the bush. Much to Nathaniel’s relief, it was just a rabbit... Wearing a blue vest. It was cute and weird at the same time.

After it hopped away, Nathaniel let out a chuckle, amused that he was afraid of a little rabbit. Before he continued his way down the rock path he heard a cracking sound coming from behind him. He whirled his head around and saw that pieces of a large rock were being chiseled off by an unseen force, revealing gold writing similar to what he saw in the closet. He made his way towards the rock and read the gold writing.

 _’Little Red Riding hood continued along the rocky path_ _skipping while humming a tune.’_

Nathaniel let out a sarcastic chuckle, “Yeah, I don’t skip, Rainbow.” He continued reading,

_‘Distracted by the beauty of the forest,_

_Red failed to notice that someone was following him,_

_becoming hungry the more they watched him.’_

He knew that a wolf was stalking him in this story, but that last sentence sounded so eerie. The story he grew up with said that the wolf just wanted to scare Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, not eat them. But after going to see Into The Woods with the rest of the art club, he knew that he had been lied to. Rose didn’t stop crying for weeks and he’s never seen Marinette look so pale.

Nathaniel quickly ran down the path. He just wanted to get this story over with, get out of this world, find Marc, and find out what got him Akumatized.

Five minutes in, and he started calling out, “Marc! Grimm Tales! If you can hear me, can you please tell me what you’re doing?” No answer. Nathaniel soon came across a river with a fallen tree trunk acting as a bridge, he called out again, “Come on! You can tell me! It’s me, your loving boyfriend!...” Still not getting an answer, he sighed, hopped up on the log, and made his way across the river. Once he got off the log, his boot scraped a piece of bark, revealing more of the gold text.

Nathaniel set his basket down and started picking at the bark to unveil what was underneath.

_’Suddenly, a snap of a twig.’_

There was the snap. Every instinct told him to run, but he just kept reading.

_‘Stalking towards Red was none other than the wolf._

_His fangs were bared, sharp, and ready to devour his prey._

_His claws gleamed and were sharpened to a fine point._

_One swipe could tear his skin off-‘_

Nathaniel didn’t bother to finish reading what was left, grabbed his basket, and ran as fast as he could down the path. Another loud crack was heard, followed by footsteps from a distance that started getting louder. As he rounded a corner, Nathaniel hid behind a large tree to hide from his stalker. He tried to steady his breathing so the wolf wouldn’t hear him, but it was too hard.

He needed a weapon, anything. There were no rocks around he could use to bash the wolfs’s head, and he doubted that the woman claiming to be his mother packed a switchblade in his basket so he could protect himself. He could use his belt as a whip. Before Nathaniel could even unclasp it, he heard a low growl coming from not too far away. It was the wolf.

”I have a weapon!” He stupidly yelled. And there was really no point in yelling he had a weapon because he was talking to a savage animal. He went to remove his belt. “It’s a whip, and it really hurts!” It probably doesn’t, the leather feels cheap, but it was better than nothing. As his shaky hands struggled to unclasp the belt, he let out a scream when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“My, look at Little Red,” the owner of a familiar voice said. This was definitely not a wolf. “All alone in the woods.”

Now calm, Nathaniel frowned as he tried to pinpoint where he’s heard that voice. It had a bit of an accent and sounded smug, almost like... “Ismael?”

Stepping into his view was Ismael Prisk, now dressed in a dark grey tailcoat with a fur lapel, a black vest and white collared shirt underneath, and black leather gloves with claws on the fingertips. His black slacks have light grey claw mark designs on the sides, his hair is messier with the ends are dyed black, and his irises are a bright yellow. On his head are faux-fur wolf ears that are attached to his head like Chat Noir’s cat ears.

”Hello, Red,” Ismael greeted as he looked Nathaniel up and down. “My, that cloak brings out your eyes.”

Nathaniel rolls his eyes. He knows it’s a little silly to hate his boyfriend’s one-sided rival, but Ismael just really annoyed him. He hated that prideful voice he always spoke in and how he always pestered Marc every chance he gets. “Cut it out, Prisk! I’m not in the mood right now.” He looks at Ismael’s outfit. It’s weird seeing him in these dark colors since he mainly wears warm colors. “Let me guess, you’re supposed to be the wolf who eats my grandmother?”

Ismael shudders in disgust, “Yeah, I’m not doing that. So what happened to your _pwecious wainbow_?” He mocked, making Nathaniel frown. “What got him so pissed?”

“I don’t know,” he said, even though he was sure it had something to do with Lila. “But I’m gonna find out.” Before he could walk away, Nathaniel asked, “How long were you waiting out here?”

Ismael took a moment to think, “... I’m not sure. The last thing I remember is being in the library, then Anciel bursts in, yells about how it’s his story now, then I just woke up in a cave somewhere. I wandered around for a bit, and then I found you. What’s even his goal here?”

“He said we're supposed to finish the stories,” Nathaniel recalled. "Marc appeared in a mirror in my room and said that we have to finish the stories and keep them moving along, find pages for something, then everyone he trapped in here will be set free."

”Ugh,” Ismael gagged. “Anciel wants me to eat your grandmother?”

“D-don’t actually eat her!” Nathaniel sputtered in disgust at the mention of the dark part of this story. “Just keep the story going. Maybe that, and finding those pages is our way out of here.”

Ismael sighed, “Fine. So, if I remember correctly, you give me directions to your grandmother’s house, then you get distracted while I follow your directions, and I pretend to be her before getting violently bisected by a woodsman.”

”Right,” Nathaniel nodded as he stepped out from behind the tree then pointed to the path he’s been following. “Just follow the rock path and you’re there.”

”Got it,” Ismael said before he walked down the trail, leaving Nathaniel by himself once again.

”God, why haven’t phones been invented yet?” Realizing that he’d have to wait a while before continuing down the trail, Nathaniel sat down on a rock that was next to a small puddle. Not a second later, the puddle glowed brightly. Nathaniel looked in it and saw more of the gold writing.

_‘Unbeknownst to Red who had been so distracted by the flower patch,_

_the wolf had taken off intending to have the poor child’s grandmother for lunch.’_

Nathaniel smacked at the puddle, making the water ripple so the words were unreadable. “Damn, this is dark.” He sighed, “I hope the others are doing alright.”

🐺🐺🐺

Alix was having so much fun right now. It’s not every day a teenager gets to handle a sharp ax and cut down a few trees. She didn’t know what Marc or Grimm Tales did exactly, but it’s awesome. When Alix woke up after blacking out for who knows how long, she found herself in an empty house filled with numerous hunting trophies.

She guessed that Grimm Tales made her a hunter in some sort of fairytale. It made sense the more she thought about it. The Akuma's name was a reference to the Grimm Brothers, who wrote hundreds of fairytales that were eventually sugarcoated for younger audiences. When she was three, Jalim would read those stories to her all the time until their dad said they were "too violent" and would "mess her up" or something like that. Alix just didn't know which story she was in since quite a few of them had hunters.

With one final swing of her ax, the tree fell with a crash that shook the whole forest.

”Wooo!” She cheered as she wiped the sweat off her brow using the sleeve of her green tunic with a black collar that came down to a V. Around her waist was a brown leather belt with brown pants covered in dirt and black leather boots. Alix hooked her ax onto her belt and started walking. She didn’t know where, but she needed to do something to pass the time until Ladybug and Chat Noir de-akumatized Marc.

It felt like she had been walking around this forest for hours, and everything looked the same. While walking, Alix came across a stone path and decided to follow it, wondering where it led to. Hopefully to her friends.

Soon, Alix had approached a river with a log bridge. Feeling a little daring, she decided to do an aerial front flip and land right in the middle of the log. She walked the rest of it when suddenly, she found something lying on the ground. It was a croissant.

”Marinette?” She whispered, immediately thinking of the bluenette baker. “Mari?!” She called out but got no answer, only birds flying overhead, alarmed by her cry. “Is anyone here?!”

Instead of an answer, she heard a cracking sound. She looked around to see where it was coming from until she found the source. It was coming from a tree. Something was chipping away at the bark, revealing a gold glow. Curious, Alix started digging under the bark and lifted it, showing what was under it. It looked like someone had written something on the tree using a gold glitter pen. After about a minute of removing the bark, she was finally able to see what was written.

_'Hearing the cries of the old woman, the snarling of the wolf, and the scream of Red,_

_the hunter ran to the old woman's home as fast as she could, hoping that it wasn't_ _too late to save the day.'_

Alix stared slack-jawed at the etching on the tree trunk. She wondered what it meant for a few seconds until she pieced everything together. She's a hunter, there's an old woman, a wolf, and someone named Red. She's in _Little Red Riding Hood_! And one of her friends is about to be eaten by a wolf! Quickly, Alix ran down the rock path. She crawled over every fallen tree, crossed every river until finally, she came across a cottage bathed in the sunlight. And the door was slightly ajar.

Alix pulled out her ax, ready to slice open that wolf. As she stalked towards the entrance, she heard voices coming from inside. She muttered, “Oh, God. Please tell me they aren't doing this scene.”

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't do this." Alix recognized that ‘I’m done with the world’ tone of voice. It was Nathaniel! She walked around the cottage until she found a window that showed Nathaniel, dressed in a red cloak, confirming that he was Little Red Riding Hood, and he was standing at the foot of a bed where someone was resting. She couldn't tell who the person was due to the lighting, but she was able to make out their voice.

"I get it." It was Ismael. "I don't even know why this was ever even a scene."

"Red Riding Hood's grandmother is clearly a human woman, and that girl doesn't think, 'Hey, this isn't my grandmother! I better run!' She has to point out how it's clearly the wolf in a terrible disguise?"

Alix rolled her eyes and whispered to herself, “I'm glad someone else gets it.”

"Look, the old lady's in the closet," Ismael said as he got up out of the bed, revealing him to be dressed in a sky blue nightgown and bonnet. Alix tried very hard to stifle a laugh when he walked into view. "Now, I'm gonna go before that hunter gets here and cuts out my insides."

"And then turns you into a fur coat," Nathaniel adds.

Ismael lets out a wolf-like snarl as he slips off the nightgown, revealing that he had put it on over his shirt, vest, and pants, "I can’t believe this story is for kids." He reaches for his tailcoat, which he had hung on the bedpost, and slips it back on.

Alix suddenly got a hilarious idea. She made her way back to the front door and raised her ax before bringing it down to chop through the wooden door, causing the two boys inside to scream out of horror and hold onto each other for dear life. After she chopped a nice-sized hole, Alix stuck her head through it, and with a sadistic grin, she yelled, "Heeere's Alix!"

Getting over his shock, Nathaniel was relieved to see his best friend, "Alix!" He lets go of Ismael, who's still paralyzed with fear, rushes to the door and opens it after Alix pulls her head out of the hole she made. "I'm so glad you're here!" The two meet with an embrace.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here, too, bud," she smiled. When they pull apart, Alix checks out his outfit with a smirk. "Damn, looking good, Nath. Loving the hood." Nathaniel blushed at the compliment. "I'm serious, you look great." Once she's done admiring Nathaniel's outfit, she notices Ismael, still standing in the middle of the room, shocked by what she did earlier. She looks at his attire and comes to the conclusion, "Prisk is the wolf?" Off Nathaniel's nod, she raises her ax again. "Alright, time to make a fur coat!"

”Alix!” Nathaniel chastised before pulling the ax out of her hands.

”I’m pretty sure we need to follow the storyline, Nath,” Alix tried to reason as she reached for her ax, which Nathaniel held out of reach.

”You’re not cutting him open,” Nathaniel deadpanned before turning to Ismael. “Where’d you say you put the grandmother, again?”

Ismael wordlessly inches away from the chaotic due and makes his way towards the closet in the corner of the room. He opens it, revealing a tied-up elderly woman with curly grey hair, a streak of it dyed the same color red as Nathaniel's hair, wearing a purple nightgown. She’s tied up, and there’s a piece of cloth over her mouth. Alix and Nathaniel aren’t sure what to say as the woman lets out a muffled scream.

”... What the hell, Prisk?!”

”Well, it’s better than the original story, Kudbel!” He retorted. “I could’ve eaten that woman, but instead I tied her up and shoved her in a closet.”

“That’s just as bad,” Nathaniel said before he approached the woman posing as his grandmother and untied her then removed the cloth. “Are you okay-“ Immediately, she engulfed him in a hug. “O-okay, we’re hugging now.”

”Oh, Red! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Nathaniel awkwardly hugged her back, “Uh... You too... Grandma.”

The grandmother looks to Ismael then to Alix. She steps in front of Nathaniel as if to protect him from Ismael. “Aren’t you going to get rid of that wolf?”

Ismael knew what that meant. “Oh, shit.” He bolts out of the house, not wanting to be there another second.

“Oh, no, the wolf escaped,” Alix shrugged. “Nath, say goodbye to your grandma. I’m getting sick of this story.”

“Right,” Nathaniel nodded, then turned to his grandmother, “Uh, grandma, I left you the pastries on the table. I’ll come and visit again soon,” he lied. Before he could walk away, the grandmother pulled him in for one last hug and smothered his face with kisses while he struggled and Alix stifled a few giggles. Finally, she let Nathaniel go, and his annoyed face was covered with red lipstick. Alix was about to say something, but he held up a finger, “Not. A word.” He grabs his empty basket off of a nightstand next to the bed, and the two leave the cottage.

Once the door shuts behind them, Alix bursts out into a fit of laughter. Nathaniel shoots her a look, “I’m sorry- Ha!”

Nathaniel muttered something under his breath as he wiped the lipstick off of his face using his sleeve. “Okay, the story’s over!” He yelled to no one in particular. “Can we leave now?”

The two stand around for a few seconds as if waiting for some magic to whisk them out of the book and back into the real world, but nothing happens.

”Guess not,” Alix said.

”Kudbel! Kurtzberg!” Ismael called out as he emerged from the woods with a piece of paper in his hand.

Nathaniel points to the paper, ”What’s that?”

”Don’t know,” he answered. “When I ran out, I noticed something glowing in the woods and went to check it out. I found this.” He hands Nathaniel the paper. “It was glowing like those words that are carved everywhere.”

“You’ve seen those, too?” Alix questioned; he nodded.

Nathaniel looks over the paper, but nothing is on it, no words or illustrations. “That’s weird. But I think this is one of those pages Marc was talking about earlier." Off Alix's look of confusion, he explains, "Marc said that along with keeping the stories going, we need to find all of the pages for something. Maybe it’ll come in handy later." He stuffs the page into his basket. “Let’s go see if we can find the others.”

”Then what?” Asked Ismael. “Watch them follow their storylines and just wait for Ladybug to fix everything?”

”Y’know, you don’t have to come with us,” Nathaniel said with his arms folded.

”I’m a wolf in a forest filled with hunters!” He exclaimed. “I’m not staying here alone.”

”Then zip it, and we won’t leave you alone,” Alix said before making her way down the trail, followed by Nathaniel and a reluctant Ismael.


End file.
